"I cannot baptise people in a livestream. I can not lay hands on people in a livestream. I cannot pray for people in a livestream, and this is our biblical command — to lay hands on the sick and when they recover; baptize them by immersion in water, which we do every day."

Last week, a coroner determined one of Spell's congregants died due to the virus, making it likely many of the churchgoers at Life Tabernacle have also been exposed to it.

Yet Spell has stood firm on these large gatherings being essential, saying the corner's report was "a lie."

Spell's endangerment of the public has lead to criticism online as well as an in-person protestor, Trey Bennet, who has stood outside the church with a picket sign for days.